The author of a new biography of Joe Biden<\/a> has said it \u201cwouldn\u2019t be a total shock\u201d if the president cancels his re-election bid by the end of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Franklin Foer, whose book The Last Politician<\/a>: Inside Joe Biden\u2019s White House and the Struggle for America\u2019s Future is published this week, told NBC\u2019s Meet the Press on Sunday that \u201cit doesn\u2019t take Bob Woodward to understand that Joe Biden is old\u201d, referring the Watergate reporter who, like Biden, is 80.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m not a gerontologist, and I can\u2019t predict how the next couple years will age Joe Biden,\u201d Foer added. Asked if Biden could drop out of his re-election bid, Foer said: \u201cIt would be a surprise to me, but it wouldn\u2019t be a total surprise to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The comments came a day ahead of the president\u2019s Labor Day visit to Philadelphia, where Biden spoke about the importance of trade unions and addressed the potential auto workers\u2019 strike. \u201cI\u2019m not worried about a strike \u2026 I don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to happen,\u201d Biden said. The president also addressed the age issue, remarking: \u201cThe only thing that comes with age is a little bit of wisdom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Questions about Biden\u2019s age and competency, along with others in legislative positions, have become a recurring theme ahead of a presidential election year. On Sunday, the former South Carolina governor and Republican nomination hopeful Nikki Haley repeated calls for \u201ccompetency tests\u201d for presidential and congressional candidates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last week, the Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, appeared to freeze in public for the second time in two months. But Foer, who is reported to have conducted 300 interviews for the 407-page account of Biden\u2019s career, also said that Biden\u2019s religious beliefs could be a factor in his decision-making. In the book<\/a>, Foer writes that Biden\u2019s \u201cadvanced years were a hindrance, depriving him of the energy to cast a robust public presence or the ability to easily conjure a name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was striking that he took so few morning meetings or presided over so few public events before 10am. His public persona reflected physical decline and time\u2019s dulling of mental faculties that no pill or exercise regime can resist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn private, he would occasionally admit that he felt tired.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A Wall Street Journal poll published on Monday<\/a> found that voters overwhelmingly think Biden is too old to run for re-election. The outlet said negative views of Biden\u2019s age and performance in office \u201chelp explain\u201d why only 39% of voters had a favorable view of the White House incumbent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the survey, 73% of voters said they felt Biden was too old to seek a second term. That compares with 47% of voters who held the same view of Donald Trump, who is three years younger at 77. The poll also found that 46% of voters said Trump was mentally competent for president, compared with 36% for Biden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But voters also expressed concerns about Trump, saying he was less honest and likable than Biden. A majority also viewed Trump\u2019s actions after his 2020 election loss as an illegal effort to deny Biden a legitimate win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cVoters are looking for change, and neither of the leading candidates is the change that they\u2019re looking for,\u201d the Democratic pollster Michael Bocian, who conducted the study, told the outlet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Biden took the opportunity on Friday to talk up his administration\u2019s economic record, saying: \u201cWe ought to take a step back and take note of the fact that America is now in one of the strongest job-creating periods in our history.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But job creation figures released on Friday show that America\u2019s employers added 187,000 jobs in August have been interpreted as a sign that the US labor market is slowing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Franklin Foer, author of biography of president, makes comments amid widespread questions about Biden\u2019s age and competency Edward Helmore Mon 4 Sep 2023 11.22 EDT (TheGuardian.com) The author of a new biography of Joe Biden has said it \u201cwouldn\u2019t be a total shock\u201d if the president cancels his re-election bid by the… Continue reading ![\"Joe](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/c9d676578f8fa3c712bbd3ea9e233e2e347eb539\/0_182_3178_1907\/master\/3178.jpg?width=460&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=163f08f6c06ea1d5fce171aa81dd613c\")
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\u201cAt what point do they get it\u2019s time to leave? They need to let a younger generation take over,\u201d Haley said. \u201cThis is not just a Republican or Democrat problem. This is a congressional problem.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen he talks about his life, he uses this word \u2018fate\u2019 constantly. Joe Biden is a very religious guy, and fate is a word loaded with religious meaning,\u201d Foer said. \u201cWhen I hear that, to me it\u2019s the ellipses in the sentence when he\u2019s talking about his own future that I account for in thinking about his calculus.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Mitch](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/8efd4e329b701614349de5c09c1f61a5a512de05\/0_163_4898_2939\/master\/4898.jpg?width=460&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=0fc8b828293c235ca9df7598141edebe\")
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